Fastener.



H- W. JULIUS.

FASTENER.

APPLICATION. FILED DEC.'22, 191s.

1,199,899. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

if J0 J7 J/TQ'Q%K J3 7 J7 fil HARRY W. JULIUS, OF NEW YORK, N.

FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Application filed December 22, 1915. Seria1 No. 68,261.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY W. JULIUS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to separable fasteners, particularly to ball and socket fasteners comprising a rigid head member and a resilient socket member of spring wire.

7 In fastening the various parts of ladies garments together, where the fabric of which the garment is made is usually of extremely light and fragile texture, it is desirable that the fastening devices used be as light and as inconspicuous as it is possible to make them.

It is the object of this invention to pro vide a fastening of the above mentioned class which is of the lightest construction consistent with the requisite strength, and in which the members occupy the minimum of space, both when separated and when mutually engaging each other.

My invention is fully disclosed in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the preferred form of my wire socket; Fig. 2 is an edge view of the socket shown in Fig. 1, looking from above and with the fabric omitted; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a common form of button having a round head adapted to interlock with my improved socket; Fig. 1 is an edge view of the button member inserted in the socket; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modification of the socket member.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 represents the socket member as made of a single length of spring wire bent into the form of a square having sides 10, 11, 12 and 13 and having at the corners loops 14:, 15, 16 and 17 The terminals of the wire member overlap but are free of each'other, the side member 11 having the free end bent into the loop 15, and the side member 12 being straight. The socket member is secured to a piece of cloth by utilizing the loops 1 1, 15, 16 and 17 as eyelets and passing the thread therethrough in the usual manner. In Fig. 1 A indicates a piece of cloth and a: indicates the stitching by means of which the socket is'attached to the cloth.

The button member is rigid and isv preferably formed by stamping from a blank of thin sheet metal, and comprises a somewhat sphericalhead portion 18 integral with or suitably secured to a flat base portion 19 having holes 20 therethrough which are adapted to serve as eyelets for the thread used to secure the head member to a piece of cloth. The diameter of the raised portion 18 of the buttonmember is greater than the distance between the parallel sides of the socket member, as is the usual construction in ball and socket fasteners having rigid heads. The button member may be secured to the cloth by sewing it to the under or reverse side thereof and making a hole therein through which the raised head 18 is adapted to project. I do not confine myself, however, to this method of attachment as I may fasten the button member to the upper side of the cloth without making a hole therein.

Assuming the button and socket members, respectively, to be fastened to different pieces of cloth, and it is desired to fasten the same together, the raised head 18 is brought into position in front of the socket member and placed in contact therewith in such position that the axis of the head is in the center of the square formed by the sides of the socket member and the head itself bears on each of the sides 10, 11, 12 and 13. Force is then applied by the fingers on the opposite sides of the members and they are pressed against each other, the sides of the socket member being spread laterally to permit of the passage of the head 18. When the raised head has passed beyond the plane of the side members, the latter spring back into their former position beneath the head and around the neck of the button and bear on all four sides of the head to hold the same in the socket. To withdraw the head from the socket and separate the pieces of cloth it is simply necessary to reverse the process, that is, to pull the members apart, the resilient sides of the socket moving laterally to permit of the passage of the head and springing in again after the same has passed through.

It will be seen from the above description that each side of the socket member cooperates to hold the button when the latter is inserted therein, thus providing a'large number of bearing points for a given length of wire. It will also be apparent that my improved wire socket is extremely light, thin and cheap to manufacture and that by reason of the number of loops embodied in it it can be strongly secured to the fabric. It is particularly useful in connection with ters Patent is acter dress fabrics permits the sockets to spring at each corner, thus minimizing strains in the device a ling thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Let- In a separable fastener, a socket member for a button having a substantially spherical head consisting in a single len th of spring Wire in the form of a closet equilateral polygonal figure and having exterior loops at the angles thereof for attachment to a garment, the terminals of saidrwire being overlapped but free from each other and the sides being adapted to spring laterally upon the insertion and Withdrawal of the head of such button member, and all of the sides of the socket member being adapted to engage such button head When the two members are engaged, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I my signature.

HARRY W. J ULlUS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washingtan, D. C. 

